The Runaway
by Rainbowdragon12
Summary: Takes place a little over 14 years after the events of Mockingjay. Finnick (deceased) and Annie's son, Joshua Finnick Odair (Josh), is now 14 years old. Annie has always been over protective of Josh and Josh is sick of it, he just wants to be like a normal kid, to travel and explore other districts. Him and Annie get in fights often, Josh usually gets over thing until one night...
1. Chapter 1

**JOSH**

"Why won't you ever let me do anything!" Josh shouted. "Josh, please..." Stuttered Annie. Ever since Josh turned 13 he had been more insistent on leaving the district, on having more independence. "Don't. Just don't. This is what happens every time, well it's gonna be different this time. I'm leaving, and I don't care what you say!" Josh turned and stormed out. "Josh..." Annie shouted after him but he just kept running. He ran all the way to the woods beyond the fence and kept running. Tears streamed down his face, not tears of regret but of anger. "Why is she so protective of me?" He thought "I'm 14, she has to let me go! I can't stay here forever!"

Josh ran for hours, past district 5 until he stopped by a stream. He threw off his shirt and shoes and jumped into the cool water. Water had always helped to calm him down. Josh stood in the cool water, letting it loosen his limbs and calm him. He stood there for an hour, watching the sun go down. Seeing the colors change the sky from its usual blue to a collage of oranges and pinks. Then Josh walked out of the water and pulled his shoes back on, but he left the shirt on the ground, letting the cool night breeze run over his bare skin. He continued walking, thinking of where he would go. "12" he thought "dad had friends in 12. What were their names? Katniss and Peeta? Yeah, that's it. I'll go see them."

**ANNIE **

Within a day search parties were out searching for the missing teen. None of them managed to find him. Annie blamed herself for Josh's running away. "I was to strict, I, I just didn't want to loose him..." Everybody told her that this was normal with teens, they all have a rebellious streak, but Annie knew this was different. She knew Josh wasn't planning on coming back.

**JOSH**

Josh had been walking for awhile now and was beginning to have second thoughts. He hadn't had much to eat, because he hadn't planned on going far. His stomach was screaming for food, but he ignored it. He was determined to make it to 12. He thought he was somewhere around 9 or 10 but he wasn't even sure. Everything kind of blended together, time, environment. Josh had left his shirt at the steam and his shoes had gotten so worn out he had taken them off and left them. Josh would occasionally see hovercrafts flying overhead, looking for him he assumed. "They'll never find me" he thought dully.

Josh was dehydrated and exhausted, physically and mentally. "I can't stop" he kept telling himself, "if I stop I won't want to get going again." Josh was regretting leaving his shirt at the stream. As he got closer to the outlying districts it began to get colder, this was the only way he was able to tell where he was. Josh took a step forward and fell. He had walked off a drop off. It was only a few feet but his leg fell under him and made a sickening snapping sound, pain shot through his body. Josh bit his lip and tried to stand up but fell on the first attempt, slamming his head into a rock as he fell. "I'm going to die" Josh thought, then he lost conscious.


	2. Chapter 2

**sorry it's been so long since I've posted, I've been busy. I'd like two more reviews if you want me to post more of this story. R&R please! :)**

** KATNISS**

• Katniss was in her favorite place, the woods. She knew she didn't need to hunt, nobody was hungry anymore and everybody always had something to eat. The main reason she continued to hunt was for comfort, hunting had always helped her to calm herself.  
Katniss head a rustling sound up in the tree and a small flash of movement, probably a squirrel or a bird. She shot at it and heard two satisfying thuds, the first one from the arrow hitting the animal and the second from the animal hitting the ground.  
Katniss ran towards the tree and saw what she had hit. A plump squirrel was on the ground a few feet away from her, an arrow sticking out of its head. She picked the squirrel up, throwing it squirrel over her shoulder. As she stood up she saw something out of the corner of her eye, something lying on the ground. As Katniss got closer she could see what it was, a boy. She began to run. toward the figure sprawled on the ground.  
The boy was lying on the ground, shirtless and shoeless. Katniss sat down next to him. Blood covered his face and soaked his pant leg, she couldn't see what from. She pulled the boy's head into his lap and brushed his hair out of his face. "Hey" she whispered into his ear. The boy moaned quietly.  
"Shhh" Katniss whispered "I'm going to help you." The boys eyes flickered open.  
"I,I can get up" he stuttered. A scream of pain escaped his lips as he tried to move his right leg.  
"Here, let me help you" Katniss said, pulling the boy up and wrapping her arm around his waist. Blood dripped from the boy's hair as he stumbled along, trying to stay standing.  
Katniss and the boy made it to Victors Village where. Katniss led to boy upstairs to the guest room. Katniss gently laid the boy onto the bed. He yelped in pain as Katniss set him down. "Shhh" she whispered "it's okay, I'm going to help you. I'm Katniss, what's your name?"  
"Josh" the boy muttered "my name is Josh."

** KATNISS**

• Katniss cleaned the blood off of Josh's face and found the wound, a deep gash on his forehead by his right eye. Katniss left it alone, deciding to wait for Peeta, he had been working on becoming a healer in addition to a baker for the past few years. Katniss was about to move to his leg when she stopped dead in her tracks. Katniss stared at the boy, there was something about him. She almost thought she recognized him. Katniss sat, staring at Josh for a while, trying to place him in her memory. After a few hours he began to stir, moaning and moving restlessly. "Shhh" Katniss whispered, brushing hair out of his face. "it's okay, go back to sleep." She could feel Josh's skin was hot and feverish. Katniss got up and got a cool cloth, gently laying on Josh's forehead.

"Mom?" Shouted Rue, Katniss's six year-old daughter, from downstairs. Katniss could hear Cinna, her three year-old son, rummaging through the pantry for a snack. She stood up and went downstairs to meet them. Cinna immediately ran up to her, "Momma!" He shouted. "Shhh" Katniss said, lifting Cinna into her arms, "don't yell baby, somebody's sleeping" she said, putting a finger to her mouth. "Who's seeping momma?" Asked Cinna in a whisper. "A little boy who didn't have anywhere else to sleep," responded Katniss.  
"Where are his mom and dad?" Asked Rue, who had taken a sudden interest in the conversation. "I don't know" replied Katniss "but he's gonna stay with us for a little while so we have to be quiet in the house so he can sleep, okay?"  
Cinna and Rue nodded, "can I go play with him?" Asked Cinna, the eagerness showing clearly on his face. "No baby" Katniss replied "he's sleeping right now." Cinna pouted "when's he gonna wake up?"  
"I don't know baby. Why don't you and Rue go over to daddy's bakery for a little while? I heard they're baking cookies today."  
Cinna's stone gray eyes lit up, "cookies?" He shouted; squirming out of Katniss' arms. Rue and Cinna ran out the door, on their way to the bakery. Katniss smiled and shook her head, then turned and went back upstairs to the guest room to tend to Josh. She took her seat next to the bed and sat, watching him again. Why did he look so familiar? He wasn't from twelve, that much was obvious by the way he dressed. They looked like clothes from four. "Four?" She thought. Katniss' eyes went wide as she figured out who he was. He had the same bronze hair, tan skin and sea green eyes. There was only one person she had ever met who had those sea green eyes, and that was Finnick Odair.


	3. Chapter 3

**thank you for the reviws! Two more reviews before I post more, R&R please!**

**KATNISS**  
• "Of course!" She thought "how did I not see it before! He was the spitting image of Finnick. This must be him and Annie's son, Joshua." Josh moaned, interrupting Katniss' train of thought.  
His eyes flicked open, and he licked his lips "w, where am I?" He stuttered quietly. "Your in district 12" replied Katniss.  
"Are you Katniss?" ask Josh, trying to sit up.  
"Yes, I'm Katniss. Please lay down, your hurt"  
Katniss said, gently pushing him back down. "Your not gonna turn me in are you?"  
"What do you..." Then Katniss remembered, A boy had gone missing a few weeks ago from four. It had been all over the news, everybody was looking for him. "Why shouldn't I? Annie's probably worried sick!" Exclaimed Katniss.  
"That's kind of why I left," Josh replied, "she was too worried about me, so much she wouldn't let me do anything. If you turn me in, I'll just leave again." Josh sat up, pushing the cloth off his forehead, "how long have I been here?"  
"A couple hours" replied Katniss.  
"okay, that's not too long. If I leave now I can get out and..."  
"Stop" Katniss interrupted, "just stop. Your not going anywhere kid, your not even going to leave this bed. You try to walk, you won't even make it out of the door. We are going to wait for Peeta to get home and we are going to think this through."  
"And why should I listen too you?"  
"Because I just saved your life kid! I could have just left you out there in the woods and let you die, but I didn't. You owe this to me at least! Just wait for a little while, I can't let you go like this. Peeta will be home soon, just wait, please."  
Josh sat silently, thinking. After a few minutes he slowly laid back down, "okay" he sighed.

Katniss quietly muttered thank you under her breath. "I want to take a look at your leg, please try to hold still, okay?"  
Josh nodded quickly and closed his eyes. Katniss walked down to the foot of the bed and cut off Josh's pant leg and he moaned. Katniss looked at Josh's leg, her face grim. His leg was obviously broken. The bone had pierced the skin, leaving a large gash on his leg. "Oh my god..." Katniss said, under her breath.  
"What?" Josh asked, clenching his teeth.  
"I-it's nothing. I need to go downstairs for a few minutes, don't move."  
Josh gave her a questioning look and she walked out of the room.

Katniss went downstairs and washed the blood off her hands.  
Then she picked up the phone and called a Greasy Sae and arranged to have Rue and Cinna stay there for the night, then she called Peeta.  
"Hey Katniss wha..." Katniss interrupted him.  
"I need you to come home, now."  
"Katniss, what's going on?"  
"Please just come home. Drop Rue and Cinna off with Greasy Sae."  
"Okay, I'll be home in a few minutes" Peeta said, sensing something was very wrong.  
Within five minutes Peeta ran in the door, out of breath.  
"Katniss, what is it?"  
Peeta grabs her hand and notices blood under her nails and staining her clothes.  
"Oh my god, are you okay?" He asks, inspecting her for injury.  
"Peeta, I'm fine. I-it's somebody else." Katniss pulls Peeta up the stairs to the guest room.  
"It's Josh, Annie's son. I found him out in the woods this morning."  
Peeta walked over and sat next to the bed. Josh had fallen back asleep and Peeta shook him awake.  
"Yeah?" Josh asked quietly.  
"Hey, you have to stay awake now. Can you do that for me?"  
Josh nodded and Peeta looked into his eyes.  
"Does your head hurt?"  
"Not really"  
Peeta nodded and put a cloth on Josh's forehead to calm the fever.  
Then he took a look at his leg.  
"Katniss, go get me some clean cloths, the bottle of antiseptic, some bandages, a bucket of water, and the little brown box from the medicine cabinet downstairs."  
Katniss ran downstairs and came back a few minutes later with all of the supplies.  
"Thank you Katniss. You probably want to go downstairs while I do this. I'll call you up when I'm done."  
Katniss nodded and walked out, walking downstairs prepare dinner.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello all! Wow, its been almost a month since I've updated! Iv'e had writers block for a while and been really busy at school and doing all kind of stuff (I know excuses, excuses). Thank you for the followers, that makes me happy. Again I want two more follows or comments to continue. Don't be afraid to criticize, just don't be mean about it. If you enjoy Lord of the Rings please go check out my other story called 'The Shire'. I'm going to try to update more often now, but the more follows and comments the more I will try to update. Enjoy my newest chapter, and thank you for reading.**

**KATNISS**

• The procedure went on for more than an hour, but Josh's pained moans and yelps only went on for the first twenty minutes. It took all of Katniss' strength not to run in and tell Peeta to stop, to leave Josh alone. She knew Peeta was helping the kid, but that didn't stop her from wanting to stop him from being in pain. She debated calling Annie and telling her everything. She could come get him and everything would be okay. Josh would go back with her and Peeta and I can go back to normal. But she knew she couldn't do that. She had always been bad at saying no, especially to children. She would give Josh a chance, because she didn't have the heart to turn him in.

Katniss heard the door upstairs open and close, followed by the bathroom door opening and closing.

A few minutes later, Peeta came down the stairs. His wavy, ashy blond hair was damp and hung over his eyes. He was wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and no shirt, exposing his stocky, somewhat muscular build and lightly tanned skin. He smiled tiredly and Katniss began bombarding him with questions, "how is he? Is he going to be okay? Is he awake? Is he..."

Peeta stopped her, "He'll be fine Katniss, he's resting upstairs now."

Katniss nodded,

"Dinners ready"

Peeta nodded and him and Katniss sat down at the to eat.

Nobody spoke a word over dinner. Neither of them wanted to be the one to break the silence. So both just sat there in silence, leaving the other to their thoughts. Peeta broke the silence

"So… the kid is Annie's son, Josh right?

"Yeah, it took me a while to make the connection. But once I figured it out I felt so stupid, he's the spitting image of Finnick! The same bronze hair, golden tanned skin, sea green eyes, he even has the same cocky personality!"

"Well I didn't really pay attention to his looks. Your sure it's Annie's son?" asked Peeta, getting up from the table and reaching for the phone.

"Don't!" exclaimed Katniss, grabbing Peeta's arm.

"Katniss, Annie's probably worried sick. I doubt she would just send him off to twelve alone. And if she did, she would have told him to call. So either way, we need to contact her and tell her we have her son so she can stop worrying."

"She didn't send him off Peeta, I know that much. He ran away…" Peeta cut her off,

"All the more reason to pick up the phone and call Annie…"

"No!" exclaimed Katniss, "He ran away for a reason Peeta, I don't have the heart to just turn him in. Lets just give him a chance to tell us what happened, then we can decide if we should call Annie or not."

Peeta stared at Katniss, speechless, but after a few moments he nodded.

"Thank you. Now, should we bring him some dinner?"

Peeta nodded again and set to the task of making a small plate of food, consisting of a small bowl of leftover soup and a piece of fresh bread.

Katniss carried the tray upstairs, Peeta following close behind her.

As soon as Katniss entered the room she was hit with the strong smell of antiseptic, mixed with the metallic smell of blood. The room was completely dark apart from the little light from the low fire in the fireplace. Josh's pale form was laying on the bed, although some color had begun to return to his skin. His forehead was wrapped tightly with bandages, although blood was already beginning to show through. His leg was in a makeshift splint made of planks of wood and tightly wrapped with layers of bandages.

His eyes were closed, so Katniss set the plate down on the bedside table and kneeled next to him.

She reached her hand out and laid it on Josh's shoulder.

"I'm awake you know," said Josh, smiling slightly.

Katniss jumped back, startled. Josh laughed weakly and Katniss made a face at him, "JUST like your father…"

Peeta walked forward and put his hand on Katniss's shoulder, "Your father was a good guy, a lot like you from what I can tell"

Josh nodded, eying the plate of food on the table.

"Are you hungry?" asked Peeta, Josh nodded. Katniss handed him the plate and he quickly began eating.

"Why are you here in twelve?" asked Katniss as Josh finished the last bit of bread on the plate. He looked up at her, as if he completely forgot she was there.

"I told you," he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "My Annie was getting too overprotective, and I was tired of it. I wanted to see other districts, so I left."

"Just like that, you just left?" asked Peeta.

"Yeah, I left about two weeks ago I think."

"And you walked here all the way from four?"

"Yeah, I walked through the woods"

Katniss and Peeta glanced at each other,

"Where exactly were you planning on going?" asked Katniss.

"I didn't think about that much till after I left, but I was thinking beyond the districts."

**I know it's not my most eventful chapter but I'm already in progress on the next chapter **


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